Firm Opens Animation Studio

A Massachusetts start-up firm that's developing a family-friendly, interactive game for release next year has opened a small animation studio in Orlando.

Cecropia Inc. of Lexington has hired seven former employees of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, which closed in March, and plans to hire as many as 20 more by the end of the year, said Ann-Marie Bland, Cecropia's president and chief executive officer.

The Disney alumni are now working out of their homes, but Cecropia plans to lease office space in the Dr. Phillips area by Sept. 1, Bland said.

"There's a gold mine of talent in Orlando," she said. "We've been developing our new interactive game for three years, and the addition of the new staff will help us greatly."

The ex-Disney workers will focus on creating artwork and animation for the company's as-yet untitled game.

Cecropia's goal is to unite storytelling and video gaming in a way that hasn't been tried previously, said Omar Khudar, the Boston-area company's founder and creative director.

The intent is to create personality animation in an interactive story that lets players participate in the actions and emotions of the characters, he said.